PROVO, Utah, Feb. 18, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Provo police arrested a man Sunday who allegedly had in his possession 4.3 pounds of heroin.
A probable cause statement from Utah County said Miguel Angel Molina-Beltran, 28, from Indio, Calif., is facing charges of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, a second-degree felony, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.
The arresting officer was in the area of 1555 S. University Ave. and located a Ford Explorer parked in the Home Depot parking lot, the statement said.
As the officer entered the parking lot, the driver got out of the vehicle and was walking around the driver side, the statement said. The officer made contact with the man, subsequently identified as Molina-Beltran. The arresting officer enlisted a Spanish-speaking officer to help translate.
“While talking to Miguel his story did not fully make sense with who he said the vehicle belonged to or why he was in the area,” the statement said. “He said he was told to meet his cousin at the Home Depot but did not know where his cousin lived just that he was from the state of Utah.”
A Lehi K-9 officer arrived, which had been requested by the officer, and ran his dog around the car. The K-9 indicated on the vehicle, the statement said.
“Officers searched the vehicle and found a white bag in the front of the vehicle,” the statement said. “Inside the bag was a box for a speaker and inside the box was a brick of what appeared to be heroin. Inside the white bag there was a clear bag that had another brick rolled inside.”
An officer took the bag back to the Provo Police Department and field tested the substance and weighed it. The field test showed positive for heroin on both bricks. One brick weighed 1,032 grams and the other brick weighed 920 grams, which equals 4.3 pounds total.
Molina-Beltran was booked into the Utah County Jail with his bail set at $10,000.
